One of the programmes offered at Unitec's North Shore Campus is the Certificate in Community Skills. This programme can be completed in one semester of full-time study or studied on a part-time basis. The programme is designed to develop the knowledge and skills for a career as a community worker, a volunteer for a community group or a youth worker.

It provides a skills-based community studies programme with a broad range of stand-alone courses to develop the personal, social, academic and practical skills and knowledge needed to be effective in the community, in paid or voluntary roles.

For further information, ring Unitec 0800 10 95 10 or visit our website, www.unitec.ac.nz

The Certificate in Community Skills attracts a wide range of adult learners of differing ages, cultural groups and social backgrounds. Some students use this community studies programme as a bridging programme into further academic study or professional training, while others use it to increase their social awareness, interpersonal skills, clarity of purpose and confidence. The lecturers use this wealth of shared experience to create an educational culture that allows for rapid learning and development.

Students on the programme develop their cultural awareness, as well as their understanding of community development, sociology, human development and the factors that influence social change. Many students from the programme continue their studies with the Bachelor of Social Practice.

About Unitec North Shore:

Unitec's North Shore Campus at 132 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, was opened in January 2008. The establishment of Unitec's campus on the North Shore was an outcome of the Tertiary Education Reforms and Strategy which saw a shift in provision from individual demand to demonstrated regional need (business, industry, secondary school, Iwi and community). Unitec North Shore's initial focus is on trades, technology and tertiary pathways. Unitec's objective is to provide whatever services Unitec's stakeholders need in order to achieve their full potential and Unitec will work with other providers to ensure complementary provision that best meets the needs of the North Shore community.